


Old Place, New Face

by summerrain24601



Category: Harvest Moon: Animal Parade
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-02
Updated: 2017-12-02
Packaged: 2019-02-09 16:23:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12891867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/summerrain24601/pseuds/summerrain24601
Summary: The Wizard of Harmonica Town remembers a little girl, who he never expected to see again.





	Old Place, New Face

He watched as she spun in circles, laughing. She reminded him so much of someone he had lost a long time ago. She was just four, maybe five years old, with deep brown eyes that showed everything she was thinking. Then, suddenly, she had thrown herself at him, wrapping her little arms around his neck.

"I don't wanna leave!" she whined, looking up at him through her bangs. It was a look that had made him give in to many things over the last few years, but one that he couldn't allow himself to fall for today. "Can I stay with you instead of going with mommy and daddy?"

"No Hikari," he said with a soft chuckle. "You have to stay with your parents." She was precious. Not just to him, but to everyone on the island. They were all going to miss her, he knew. Likely, all the children would be waiting at the docks to see them off as Hikari and her family boarded the ship that would take them to the mainland, and to her new life. 

"Aw! But I wanna stay with you Wizard!" she protested, clinging to him as he held her in his arms. He had to admit, she'd dug her way into his heart. He would always remember little Hikari, the way her freckled face scrunched up when she got mad, and how her eyes sparkled when she laughed. She was such a sweet kid.

"How about this? I promise to come see you off when you leave tomorrow," he told her, brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear. She was so young, but he already felt protective of her. It was almost as if she'd become his sister, even. 

"Okay," she conceded. "But you better write to me! Mommy said I might not 'member everyone here, and I don't wanna forget you Wizard!" She had left shortly after to finish packing, and when he made his way to the docks, his earlier guess had proven right. Candace and her little sister Luna were both there with their grandmother. Anissa was there with her parents, as was Renee. Both of them lived out in Flute Fields, he remembered. Kathy, whose father ran the Brass Bar, had also shown up. The innkeeper's daughter Maya was there too, as was Phoebe from the general store. Jin, the son of the island's nurse, was there with Owen, the blacksmith's apprentice. Even the mayor's son, Gill, had shown up to see Hikari off. Many of the villagers had shown up as well.

It was a promise he had made to a little girl. One that he had purposely not kept, though he did feel bad about not writing to her. After speaking to her parents, he'd come to understand that they would never be returning to Harmonica Town. It was best if she forgot him. But he didn't forget. She still slipped into his thoughts every now and then as the years went by. Now, nearly fifteen years since he'd last seen her, he wondered how she was doing. She'd mentioned wanting to start a farm of her own years ago. Had she managed it? 

A knock on the door broke him out of his thoughts, and he closed his book before crossing the room. Who was paying him a visit? None of the villagers actively searched him out, even if he did live in the middle of town. He opened the door for his guest, a brown-haired young woman with deep brown eyes and a freckled face. A very familiar face, actually.

"Hi. Um… The witch in the woods told me you could help with her, ah, problem," she said, almost sounding nervous. "Oh, I'm Hikari. I moved into the abandoned ranch up on the hill last season." Wait, Hikari? He quickly looked around her face and began to put the pieces together. This was indeed the same Hikari from back then. The very same little girl who hadn't wanted to leave the island was back. Of all the things that he had thought would happen, he had never expected to see her again. And it seemed that she didn't remember him. Did she hold any memories of this place any longer, or had she forgotten everyone who lived here? Would there be people here who still remembered her?


End file.
